The UI College of Nursing has received a $191,500 alumni donation that will allow the school to launch global health initiatives in Haiti and Swaziland, and provide international study and travel opportunities for nursing students.

The donation, made by Susan Code (BSN ’79) and Andy Code (BBA Finance ’80, MBA ’81), will be used to establish a health care clinic in Haiti that will provide primary care and health promotion, training, and education to local families. It will also provide scholarship funding that will allow nursing students to travel to Swaziland, a monarchy in southern Africa, as part of a community and population health learning experience.

The Haiti project will be led by Nursing Assistant Professor Andrea Achenbach and Henry B. Tippie College of Business Lecturer Dimy Doresca, who is director of Tippie’s Institute for International Business. Achenbach and Doresca, who plans to work with faculty and students at a local business college, will travel with students to Haiti and include them in various projects there.

The Swaziland project will be led by Anita Nicholson and Sue Lehman, who will also travel with students and work with them in local communities. The initiative will expose students to new perspectives in health care in a country with extreme poverty and a shortage of medical care. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Swaziland has the highest prevalence rate of HIV in the world.

“The Codes have made significant contributions to support the University of Iowa and its efforts to solve global health issues, which are important to them,” said College of Nursing Dean Julie Zerwic. “We thank them for helping our students gain global experience and expertise while also improving the lives of those in need.”